EII 3_Unit 3 L1

One of the most interesting aspects of how we think is called "cognitive dissonance." Although that sounds like a complicated psychological term, you'll soon see how (1) ​ (a)   it is to our everyday lives. Have you ever been in a situation, for example, where you did a lot of work on something and were told it wasn't necessary? If you have, you'll probably remember that you had to (2) ​ (b)   the fact that you'd wasted your time because it wasn't a nice thing to think about! In fact, in a situation like this where you (3) ​ (c)   .​

• relevant
• ignore
• make an effort
• concentrate on
• pay attention to

It's unnecessary, you would probably only (4) ​ (a)   the positive things about it. For example, you might learn something new as you (5) ​ (b)   finishing the work. If you look at it this way, cognitive dissonance is a positive experience. Why? Because we (6) ​ (c)   allow ourselves to feel bad about something we have put a lot of effort into, so we just "forget" about the (7) ​ (d)   that we wasted our time and focus on the good feeling we get from knowing we have worked hard on something.

• concentrate on
• pay attention to
• rarely
• evidence
• relevant
• ignore

When people read articles online ...

• they find it easy to stay focused

• they remember more than if they read the same article on paper

• they find it difficult to concentrate for a long period of time

It appears that people are writing ...

• comments about things they haven’t read.

• lots of negative comments.

• things that are not true.

Michael Merzenich argues that the brain...

• remains stable after childhood.

• continues to change even after childhood.

• is easily damaged.

When watching a film people ...

• often don’t finish watching the film.

• always want to see something new.

• sometimes find it difficult to concentrate.

The term ‘psychological obesity’ refers to ...

• the link between our body and our brain.

• the fact people prefer to read things that are not necessarily good for them.

• the fact our brain needs fats and sugars to function.

Newspaper editors …

• still print stories people might not want to read.

• only print stories that relate to our daily lives.

• try to find unpleasant stories to print.